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An Automated Cat Litter Box With DRM
HughPickens.com writes: Jorge Lopez had always wanted an automatic cat litter box, and finally found one called the CatGenie, a fully automated self-washing litter box connected to water, electricity and the sewer that cleans itself with water and soap. "It's the Rolls Royce of cat litter boxes, a hefty device that scoops, cleans, and disposes of the waste all on it's own. It's completely automated, even senses when a cat poops and cleans up afterwards." But there's trouble in paradise. "Life with the CatGenie was great, but not quite perfect," writes Lopez, after discovering that CatGenie uses a smart cartridge that is only available from the manufacturer. "I found that the "Smart" in SmartCartridge is that it has an RFID chip inside of it to keep track of how much solution it has, and once it runs out, well, you can't refill. I honestly did not believe this and tore one of the cartridges apart, and there it was, looking back at me, a tiny chip holding up it's little metal finger." Fortunately there are some amazing people helping the CatGenie community who have released products like the custom firmware CatGenious and CartridgeGenius, which allows you to use whatever solution you want. "The cost savings is great, but isn't the biggest driver for me, it's mainly the principle that I don't own the device I paid for, and I'm really tired of having cat litter everything in my home."
DRM-laden toilets?
v1.0: Uses proprietary toilet paper and won't allow you to flush any TP that doesn't have the manufacturer-specific RFID tag in it.
v2.0: You may only eat and drink foods specified by the manufacturer, which also contain microscopid RFID tags, which are biologically inert and pass harmlessly through your digestive tract and into your feces and urine. Detection of any other waste substances will result in Failure to Flush.
v3.0: All RoboToiliet users must have an RFID tag implanted in their ass; others may not use the toilet. RoboToilet must be connected to AC mains power and a broadband internet connection 24/7/365, or Failure to Flush will not occur because end-user authentication will not be possible. Naturally there is an annual subscription fee, with complimentary membership in the RoboToilet Owners Club.
I'll leave it up to you to decide what the 'owners club' is all about.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
"The cost savings is great, but isn't the biggest driver for me, it's mainly the principle that I don't own the device I paid for, and I'm really tired of having cat litter everything in my home."
So exercise your rights as a consumer to research beforehand and not buy it. Or return it. Or modify it, as you have. Or, for god sakes, ask your vet or friends with cats or reddit for advice on having cat litter everywhere (I believe the most common solution is a covered box with fairly high side.) You can also teach your cat to pee/crap in the toilet, believe it or not. There are little "litter box" inserts that reportedly make it pretty easy; the cat goes "oh, another litter box" and uses it for a week or two, and then you remove the insert, and if the cat notices, they go *shrug* and still use it. No more litter, no more stink.
But for god sakes....I was around on Slashdot when the fist inkjet printer companies started chipping their cartridges. I also learned about Gillette in...either middle school or high school. That was a century ago, if not more. The "handle is free, the blades are disposable and we have a very healthy profit margin on them" model is quite, quite old. Why are people surprised? Especially if you read Slashdot, why didn't you do research on it?
Your robotic, do-everything catbox would've cost substantially more if the company were not figuring on a continuing revenue stream. In fact, it might have cost so much that nobody would've bought it.
Please help metamoderate.
There are other options in this market, not all of which require proprietary consumables. We've been using the LitterRobot which, while more expensive (~$300), requires no further financial commitment to the manufacturer. You just need to buy normal cat litter and periodically replace a normal garbage bag in the base.